Obstreperous
by FortunateCookie14
Summary: Alternate AOS one-shot, with Spock and Jim attending the same elementary school on Earth. They're the same age and in 5th or 6th grade, thereabouts. Spock is irritated by the new student's constant noises and annoying behavior. Gen.


This is my attempt to build my vocabulary. It may not be a very efficient method, but at least it's fun.

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Obstreperous

adj.- noisy, unruly

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The first sign came when the classroom door squeaked open loudly in the middle of silent reading. There suddenly came the sounds of harsh panting, papers being crushed and crinkled, and heavy footfalls upon the linoleum floor as a boy none too gently entered the room.

Spock, distracted, looked up from his reading. As the boy pounded over to the teacher's desk, Spock observed that he was Terran, as most of the children were, and that he was short, with blonde hair and a wide smile. He carried a bag filled with scattered papers. As Spock and everyone else watched, the unknown boy began talking conversationally with the teacher despite the obvious silence in the room. He apologized for being late to class, and his words made it clear that he was transferring from another school, presumably to join the gifted children's program at this one.

"Welcome to the class, James," Ms. Mendel said. "We're in the middle of reading, as you can see." At this, the boy finally turned to look at everyone else in the room. Seeing that he was being observed closely, he flashed a wide grin. "There should be a seat open there," she pointed. "Behind Spock. Grab a book from the shelves and read until I provide further instruction." James nodded and lumbered over to the desk directly behind Spock's. Everyone turned back to their books, knowing that there would be no opportunity to learn more about the new kid until after silent reading was over.

However, there was no longer total silence in the room. Spock found he could not concentrate as the boy shuffled unhurriedly through his bag, ruffling all of the loose papers. He then plodded over to the shelves, pushing heavy books aside for a minute before selecting one and walking noisily back to his desk. His chair scraped back. Spock fought a short burst of annoyance as the sounds continued. First, the crash of a heavy backpack into the hard floor. Then, a chair being scooted back in, one inch at a time. Then the book's front cover was thrown open, thunking heavily onto the wooden desk. Pages were riffled through. Then, for a short second, nothing.

Spock began to let out a breath that was most definitely not one of relief, but was startled again as a steady metallic clanging sounded from behind him. He gritted his teeth as he realized that the new kid was tapping his foot repetitively against a leg of the desk.

That was the second sign.

Later, after suffering through constant distraction to his reading by James' tapping foot, Spock was pleased that the class would now be learning about scientific practices. As each kid settled down with their own miniature circuit board, Ms. Mendel explained what they would be testing. It was all stuff that Spock knew already, but participating would do no harm.

Everyone got to work on following the instructions. Everyone, that is, except James. Spock listened, mildly irritated, as he struck up a conversation with the student next to him.

"So my old school basically kicked me out. They said I was too unruly and caused too much trouble. Probably 'cause I was bored, but still."

Spock heard the squeak of metal that he knew signified when someone was leaning back on the chair legs. He had never seen any reason to do such a thing, but other children did it frequently.

"What kinds of things did you do?" the boy next to James asked.

"Oh, all sorts. When a girl brought in her pet rat one time, I took it out of its cage at recess and hid it in her friend's desk. After screaming her head off, the girl thought her friend had put it there on purpose." Spock turned and saw the boy look increasingly dumbfounded as James went on. "Another time, I snuck in after school and changed the grades of most of the people in my class by using the teacher's computer. It only took me a couple minutes to guess her password," he boasted. Spock listened, shocked and dismayed. While James was likely quite intelligent for knowing how to operate a computer so well in order to change his classmates' grades, he also seemed to be a huge troublemaker. Spock preferred peace and routine, and was not fond of surprises like those the boy promised to bring in the future.

Most people in the room were either quiet or talking softly with their neighbors. Spock suspected most would be able to hear James' conversation, with the exception of Ms. Mendel, who was too far across the room at her desk.

Spock fiddled with his circuit board, knowing full well that the boy behind him wasn't doing the same. Still tipped back in his chair, James continued conversing as if he didn't have a care in the world. He began to rock on the back legs of his chair, creating a constant squeaky sound. Spock glanced back in annoyance.

James turned and caught his look, then held it. They stared at each other a moment, Spock knowing that James understood his look.

James spoke first. "It's Spock, right?" he asked carefully, still not glancing away.

Spock nodded slowly. "That is correct. And you are James?"

"It's Jim. Jim Kirk." The other kid slowly brought his chair back down, then settled his elbows on the desk and stared steadily at Spock.

"May I enquire as to why you aren't working on the assignment?" Spock asked, wanting nothing more than to finish the conversation.

Jim tilted his head thoughtfully at Spock. "I understand it all already. I don't need to test something that's already been proven to happen consistently to know that it will work."

Spock tipped his head. "Logical," he murmured, prepared to turn around and attempt to ignore Jim for the rest of class. Before he could, though, Jim continued talking.

"You think I'm a nuisance, don't you?" he asked, as though he already knew the answer and didn't care either way.

"I would not call it that without further observation. However, your behavior so far has been rather..." Spock searched for a term that would encompass precisely all the simple observations he had made about Jim's actions thus far.

"Obstreperous?" Jim asked, a smile curling one corner of his mouth.

Spock tilted his head, impressed despite himself. "Precisely," he said simply.

"What, are you impressed? Didn't think I'd know an advanced term like that?" Jim grinned suddenly, his teeth flashing a perfect smile. "You'd be surprised. There's a lot you don't know about me." He winked at Spock, grinned at him a moment longer, then turned away.

Spock too turned back around. He sat for a bit, staring at nothing and thinking. As he eventually resumed the task with the circuit board, Spock had to admit that he was, in fact, intrigued.

What other surprises did this Jim Kirk have in store, and would they indeed not be as negative as Spock had feared? All he could do was wait and see.


End file.
